AEN Policy January 2017 AUTHOR: Mr D Stewart COMMITTEE: Learning & Inclusion LAST REVIEW/UPDATE: January 2017 LEVEL OF CHANGE: Minor Change NEXT REVIEW: May 2018 Tapton School (AEN Policy January 2017) Page 1
This policy should be read in conjunction with the Equal Opportunities Policy. For the purposes of this document, AEN (Additional Educational Needs) refers to the students who encounter specific barriers to learning and who may access some learning interventions as a result, and is known also as SEN (Special Educational Needs). Please also refer to Part 2 of this document for further definition. Tapton School values the abilities and achievements of all its students, and is committed to providing the best possible environment for learning. Our AEN (Additional Educational Needs) policy reinforces the need for fully inclusive, quality first teaching. The Governing Body ensures through partnership with the Leadership Team and the AEN team that appropriate provision is made for students with AEN. Tapton School is an inclusive school, engendering a sense of community and belonging through its: - Inclusive ethos and vision - Broad and balanced curriculum for all students - Systems for identification of barriers to learning and participation and varied strategies to overcome them - High expectations and bespoke targets for all students - High quality professional development for all staff Students identified as having AEN are, as far as is practicable, fully integrated into mainstream classes. Every effort is made to ensure that there is the opportunity to fully access the full curriculum that Tapton offers and to participate in all aspects of school life. 1 The AEN Aims of the School - All teachers are the teacher of every child. - To ensure that all students have access to a broad and balanced curriculum. - To provide a differentiated curriculum and plan associated lessons appropriate to the needs and abilities of individual students. - To ensure the identification of students having AEN as early as possible through partnership with parents, school staff and outside agencies. - To ensure that students with AEN take as full a part in all school activities in as far as is possible within the school s framework. - To ensure that parents of AEN students are informed about their child s progress. - To ensure that AEN students have a voice in decisions around their provision and any possible interventions. - To ensure that AEN students make successful transitions at all relevant key stages. - To ensure that staff undertake high quality training to support the delivery of AEN provision. We recognise that many students have Additional Educational Needs at different times in their school life, and will seek to cater for them appropriately according to need and within the resourcing available to our school. Tapton School (AEN Policy January 2017) Page 2
2 Definition of Additional Educational Needs A child has additional educational needs if he or she has learning difficulties that call for special educational provision to be made. A child has learning difficulties if he or she: - Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age. - Has a disability which prevents or hinders the child from accessing educational opportunities in the same manner as their peers. Special educational provision means: For a child over two, educational provision which is additional to, or different from, the educational provision made generally for children of the same age in mainstream schools in the area. Children must not be regarded as having learning difficulties just because their first language is not English. 3 Roles and Responsiblities The AEN team within Tapton School: Associate Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for Achievement for All (SENCo) AEN teachers L3/L2 Teaching Assistants Higher Level Teaching Assistants AEN Governor The Role of the Leader of Learning Support SENCo The Leader of Learning Support (SENCo) plays a crucial role in the school s AEN and inclusion provision. This involves working with SLT and the Governing Body to determine the strategic development and implementation of the policy. Other responsibilities include: - Maintaining the AEN register: this is a live document to which all staff have access. It is found electronically in a confidential staff area on Tapton s Internal Teacher Area. Students move on and off the AEN register according to their needs and strengths. The AEN register describes an outline of needs and strengths on individuals and is designed to aid teachers in their day to day planning. - Maintaining one page profiles of high needs students this adds another layer of understanding to the more complex AEN students, and in conjunction with the school s rigorous tracking, targeting and assessment processes, means that AEN students at Tapton do not have IEPs. - Overseeing the day-to-day operation of the policy. - Co-ordination of the provision for AEN students. - Leading the AEN department. Tapton School (AEN Policy January 2017) Page 3
- Liaising with and giving advice and support to teaching and non-teaching staff in school. - Overseeing students records and data. - Liaising and meeting with parents regularly an offer of three times a year in accordance with the SEN Code of Practice (2014). - Coordinating well planned and bespoke training for staff on a regular basis in order that they may deliver inclusive, quality first teaching. - Supervising the Pupil Premium budget for applicable students within school. Monitoring the effective use of these funds and measuring the impact of this intervention. - Liaising with pastoral staff in school on a daily basis. - Liaising with all external agencies in order to better understand student strengths and needs. - Working with the rest of SLT and the Headteacher in order to keep them informed of new developments and departmental issues and their impact on the whole school. - Overseeing Access Arrangements for examinations in partnership with the Exams Officers. For effective co-ordination, staff should be aware of: - The AEN policy. - The AEN register this provides a summarised explanation of individual AEN students needs, strengths and aims. - The responsibility all teaching staff have in making provision for AEN students. - The commitment required by teaching and non-teaching staff to keep the AEN team informed of students progress. The Role of the Governing Body The Governing Body s responsibilities to students with AEN include: - Ensuring that provision of a high standard is made for AEN students. - Ensuring the development, monitoring and reviewing of the AEN policy. - Having regard to the SEN Code of Practice and other relevant AEN guidance. - Reporting on the school s AEN provision. - Nominating a link governor who maintains a relationship with the Associate Assistant Headteacher (SENCo). The Role of the Subject Teacher The SEN Code of Practice (2014) clearly acknowledges the importance of the teacher, whose responsibilities include: - Being aware of the school s procedures for the identification and assessment of, as well as the provision for AEN students (including this policy). - Making themselves aware of AEN students, their strengths and their needs and planning accordingly. Tapton School (AEN Policy January 2017) Page 4
- Collaborating with the Associate Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for Achievement for All (SENCo) and the AEN team to decide the action required to assist the student to progress. - Liaising regularly with the Teaching Assistants who work in their lessons and deploying them effectively. - Differentiating teaching and learning within lessons to ensure that individual learning needs are met, as well as closely monitoring their progress. - Developing constructive relationships with students and parents. - Attending appropriate training and ensuring their knowledge is up to date. The Role of the Student Students should be involved in making decisions about their AEN provision. The ways in which students are encouraged to participate should reflect the child s evolving maturity. Most often this is through planned short meetings with the Leader of Learning Support, unless their AEN prevents them for participating in this. The Role of the Parent Tapton School recognises that parents have a unique overview of their child s needs and will have clear views on how best to support them. The Associate Assistant Headteacher (SENCo) will work in partnership with parents, pastoral staff, teachers and outside agencies to ensure appropriate provision for AEN students. The parent has a responsibility to work in partnership to inform the school of any relevant and significant changes for the child and to engage positively with the school through the three reviews on offer annually. 4 Admission Arrangements Tapton School is an inclusive school and admission arrangements are outlined in the school s Equal Opportunities Policy and Admissions Policy. 5 Identification, Assessment and Provision Allocation of Resources Resources for AEN students are allocated according to need, which may change dependant on the circumstances. The base budget covers teaching and curriculum expenses for all students, while an SEN budget covers the cost of individual provision for students (interventions and other targeted support). Students with Statements or Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans are provided with a specific allocation of funds, which will be reflected in their provision. The Governing Body ensure that resources are allocated to support appropriate provision for all students requiring it, and in meeting the objectives set out in this policy. Tapton School follows Sheffield SEN (Children s and Young People s Service) guidance to ensure that students needs are appropriately met and that statutory duties are carried out. Categories of Special Educational Need Tapton School (AEN Policy January 2017) Page 5
The SEN Code of Practice (2014) does not assume that there are rigid categories of Special Educational Need, but recognises that children s needs can be described using four broad areas. These are: - Communication and Interaction Difficulties - Cognition and Learning Difficulties - Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties - Sensory and / or Physical Needs The SEN Code of Practice (2014) makes it clear that all teachers are teachers of pupils with special educational needs. Early Identification Early identification of AEN students is important to us. Tapton School will use appropriate screening and assessment tools, and ascertain student progress through: - Evidence obtained by teacher observations and assessments. - Internal assessment (following Tapton School s regular and detailed calendar of tracking and assessment). - Screening and diagnostic tests. - Records and feedback from the family of schools. - Information from parents. - External exam results. - External agency information. Usually, it is a combination of the above rather than one single factor which is used to determine a student s AEN. Levels of Additional Educational Need Teaching AEN students is a whole school responsibility. The core of a teacher s work involves a continuous cycle of planning, teaching and assessing and setting appropriate targets, taking into account the differences in students abilities and interests. Some targeted students may need increased levels of support. All teachers are responsible for identifying students with SEN in partnership with and under the guidance of the Associate Assistant Headteacher (SENCo). Assessment is the process by which students with AEN are identified, and one of the factors in considering a child s additional needs is academic progress. The SEN Code of Practice (2014) advocates a graduated response to meeting students needs through targeted interventions which increase or decrease according to the students difficulties and strengths at the time, and which should be individualised to allow students to meet their potential. If the school decides, in collaboration with parents, that a student requires further additional support or interventions to make progress, the Leader of Learning Support (SENCo) will liaise with relevant staff to ensure that this happens. However, the subject teachers remain responsible for the careful planning and delivering of specific subject based curriculum. Typical AEN interventions might be: Tapton School (AEN Policy January 2017) Page 6
- Short term extractions from non-core subjects. - In class support. - Short term periods of work with external agencies. - Use of specific literacy or numeracy programmes. - Reading and writing programmes with peer support from Sixth Form students. Parents will be informed of students progress in interventions and around school through the school s normal reporting systems, as well as through the offer of 3 AEN review meetings a year (typically one a term, one of which may be held during a Parents Evening, and in some circumstances may consist of a telephone conversation). Open communication is encouraged and parents are welcome to contact the Associate Assistant Headteacher (SENCo) via telephone or email as and when the need arises. Tapton School will request a Statutory Assessment possibly leading to an Education and Health Care Plan from the LA when, despite an individualised programme of sustained SEN intervention the child remains a significant cause of concern. A Statutory Assessment can also be requested by a parent or an outside agency. The school will provide the evidence required by this process which is available at the time. The school recognises that the request for a Statutory Assessment does not inevitably lead to an EHC Plan. An EHC Plan is a legal document that outlines the need of the students and their objectives. It outlines the additional provision that will be allocated to promote achievement and is relevant to the student until they are 25. Progress of the EHC Plan will be monitored by the issuing authority. Students who are currently protected by a Statement of Special Needs will be transferred to an EHC Plan by 2017. 6 Record Keeping The school will record the steps taken to meet students individual needs. The Associate Assistant Headteacher (SENCo) and the AEN department will maintain the AEN records and ensure appropriate access to them as well as working in line with the school s data protection policy. The AEN records may include: - The AEN register. - One page profiles of high needs students. - Information from previous schools. - Information from parents. - Information on progress and behaviour. - Information from other agencies. Tapton School uses an electronic system (MSTORE) to archive and store AEN information. This is a secure way of ensuring that records are kept in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998). 7 Evaluating Success The success of the school s AEN policy and provision is evaluated through: - Student tracking and data for individuals as well as for significant cohorts. Tapton School (AEN Policy January 2017) Page 7
- Monitoring of procedures and practice by the AEN Governor. - School Self Evaluation and School Improvement Plan. - Performance management and appraisal systems for all colleagues in the AEN team. 8 Complaints Procedures In the event that parents have any complaints or queries, referring to Tapton School s Complaints Policy would be the first port of call. The SEN Code of Practice (2014) outlines additional measures (on top of the school s usual complaints procedures) the LA must set up for preventing and resolving disagreements. Tapton School (AEN Policy January 2017) Page 8